じぇじぇ

jeje, (to indicate that one is surprised)

Many TV or radio programs have used and repeatedly discussed on this word, although I have not yet had a change to hear people practically use it in a real communication. Apparently this word is originated in a dialect, and used by a heroin in a on-going TV drama. If indeed that this expression becomes popular in the near future, it would prove nothing but the power of influence by the mass media.

I reacted to this word with a strange feeling, as ジェ is how people call my name in English...

アフレコ

afureko, "after-recording"

Visiting Japan and talk to people, one can always learn some fresh vocabulary. This time, the first such word to me is this one. I am sure that the English word which it represents does not communicate with most English speakers. In truth, it refers to "voice over". More specifically, it indicates a type of passionate practice by people who dreams to become a radio actor to practice their skills by applying their voice to existing anime pictures.

It seems that there is a word which has a longer history in this context. That word is プリレコ or pre-recording. It is a way to produce motion pictures by preparing the voice part first. In fact, I have used プリレコ method many times to create my own short presentations, and found out that it is rather easy and convenient.

ふうが

fuuga, (a store name).

This is a store sign near my residence. I pass it a few times a day, but always have a difficulty to read it. Eventually I decide to pay a little attention to it, and realized that it has Romanized characters beside it. However this Romanized characters should be properly written as fuuga or fūga. I expect that it must refer to the word 風雅 (elegance), but I am not completely sure as this word normally would not be written in kana.

A store name should be simply and clear. Obviously this store chose a different principal -- it prefers to cause a visitor a little confusion and challenge them for a educated guessing.

ませ

mase, (a form of conjugation).

Walking on the street, various different types of expressions are heard --- those who are living here naturally became to ignore words without special meanings, but those who are visitors tend to pick up much more. Here is a such example: a student walking besides me asked what does it mean with ませ in いらっしゃいませ. As we have enough time to expand a discussion, so I brought up the topic of verb conjugations and how it works in the word ます.

It is always a sensitive judgement as how much grammatical discussion is necessary for a language learner. However, I am a believer that it is not only useful but essential for an university student to always realise language rules behind expressions.

生造り

iki-zukuri, a fish served alive

This term refers to a unique way to serve a fish or other seafood. It emphasizes that the prepared dish being fresh -- it is such fresh that the item presented to a table is still alive, part of them still moves. At a recent class, a student reported a link to a video clip where not only the meal at the dish, but even the fish with the remaining body was swimming at the water tank.

At a typical Japanese table, this dish would be considered purely a  gorgeous meal, and a special treat. But for many with little knowledge, this way of cooking may be extremely out of the context, often unimaginable, or even can not be tolerated. Every one likes a good meal, but in deed the expectation could be very much different.

泳ぐ骨